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Megyn Kelly Plays Defense Attorney For The Duggars

Posted by Ellen -7841.60pc on June 04, 2015 · Flag

Duggars.png

While Fox News endlessly lectures African Americans about their family values, host Megyn Kelly was a vision of sympathy and helpful talking points on behalf of the white, conservative Duggars, as they tried to reconcile their son’s child molesting with their squeaky-clean Christian “purity” image they’ve leveraged all these years.

As Salon noted, “The Duggars have long marketed themselves as exemplars of wholesome, biblical living… if not perfect, at least pure, and in particular, sexually pure. …The first episode of their ‘reality’ television show aired in 2008, two years after the police interviewed family members about the sexual assaults that had taken place in 2002 and 2003; the statute of limitations had already run and the police could not pursue charges.”

That is the crux of this scandal and no amount of explanation by the Duggars about how they handled their son’s misconduct can make us pay no attention to the family behind the curtain.

However, nobody can blame Megyn Kelly for not making her best image rehab efforts. With the Duggars, Kelly acted more like their attorney than any “straight news” journalist.

For example, in the first video below, Kelly went over the process by which the family turned their son over to the police – long after they learned of his molesting. Kelly helpfully noted that son Joshua “told it all” to the police. And when the Duggars said they had no idea that the police officer they went to would later go to jail on child pornography charges, Kelly gratuitously announced, “So critics who say, ‘Oh, they chose that guy because they thought he’d be sympathetic' – not true.”

That officer now claims that Joshua only told him about one instance of molestation (when in reality it was multiple times). But Kelly deliberately cast doubt on the officer’s credibility, saying, “And now from prison – from prison now, where he’s serving for child pornography, he said, ‘Well, (Josh) only told me about one incident.’ That’s why he didn’t pursue charges.”

Then, after Jim Bob Duggar wondered if the former officer said that in order to get parole sooner, Kelly interrupted to summarize the good news on behalf of the Duggars. “The bottom line is, you went to a law enforcement official, you reported it, Josh told him what – you say he told them everything,” she said.

In the final segment, Kelly ignored the elephant of hypocrisy in the room and helped paint the Duggars as conservative victims. She asked, “Do you think that the backlash against the Duggars has been greater because people object to who you are and what you stand for? …Do you think in particular your Christian beliefs are at issue here?”

Yes, they did. “I don’t know if the rest of our family should be punished for the act of one of our children for something that happened 12 years ago or not,” Jim Bob Duggar complained. But, he insisted, the family would be fine whether their TV show continued or not. “We’re gonna go on and live life, we’re gonna go on and serve God and make a difference in the world.”

“We’re going to enjoy our children and enjoy our grandchildren and continue on with life. Either way we’re at peace,” Michelle Duggar chimed in.

But soon the Duggars just happened to echo the very same “liberal media victim” complaints about the release of juvenile records that Kelly suddenly came up with, once Fox got around to discussing the story. The synchronicity again raises questions about the connections between the Duggars, their PR agency that also works for former Fox host Mike Huckabee, and Fox News.

“This information was released illegally and so I wonder why all this press is not going after the system for releasing the juvenile records. That is a huge story,” Jim Bob Duggar said.

“It must have been terrible. I mean, I’m sure you’re going through hell right now,” Kelly commiserated.

Michelle Duggar said the daughters have “been victimized more” by the scandal than the actual molestation because they didn’t know that their brother had inappropriately fondled them in their sleep.

As I’ve said before, the Duggars have a point about the release of juvenile records to the press. But, unfortunately for them, the story about their hypocrisy is much bigger than the story about the release of juvenile records.

Kelly’s sensitivity to the Duggars’ predicament was quite a contrast to her hostile badgering of the Freddie Gray family attorney. Then, she demanded that he “trust in the system” and accept in advance an exoneration of the Baltimore police officers, despite the fact that Gray was an obvious victim, having inexplicably died while in police custody. She has since decided her own directive does not apply to herself.

As for the illegal release of private information? Kelly applauded the creators and promotors of the illegally and deceptively recorded ACORN videos. But guess which race most of those victims were?

Watch the excerpts below, from the June 3 The Kelly File. More are here, here and here.

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Debbie Camp commented 2015-06-05 08:13:00 -0400 · Flag
Mr. and Ms. Duggar, please take your litter and get off my planet. And take black roots Barbie with you.
d d commented 2015-06-04 18:03:58 -0400 · Flag
In Touch Magazine (the media outlet that first broke the story about the Duggar pedophilia case) has responded to the Duggar’s interview with Megyn and calls them liars – “ranging from lies by omission to misleading statements to flat-out lies.”

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/in-touch-hits-back-at-duggars-releasing-records-was-legal-and-btw-you-lied-a-lot/
marco commented 2015-06-04 15:42:11 -0400 · Flag
What’s the big deal? Jim Bob said they were only touched over their clothes and those girls didn’t even know anyway. Even on the 3rd time he did it, they didn’t know so how would it even affect them? His friends had similar things happen in their families, too, and they all said if you send them to institutional rehab it doesn’t even help, so sending them to a real Christian friend was the right thing to do. It wasn’t rape, after all. And these incidents got them closer to the almighty God. Megyn doesn’t need to be hard on them because it’s all good. Damn that perverted cop that circulated this information.
Mike Collins commented 2015-06-04 15:39:41 -0400 · Flag
Lost all respect for Megan Kelly. She did everything she could to make the Duggars the victims. I watch Fox news quite often but this was sickening.
Joseph West commented 2015-06-04 15:23:39 -0400 · Flag
I know that Megyn’s days as an attorney were more on the commercial/corporate side of the profession (she worked for Jones Day, an international powerhouse law firm that deals with commercial law) BUT surely all law students take some classes* in criminal law at some point in law school so they have SOME minor understanding that fondling someone who’s asleep or unconscious is STILL criminal activity; it’s non-consensual sexual activity (and Megyn’s old enough to be aware that marital rape has been considered criminal activity since she was in elementary school; I only bring up marital rape because, for centuries, a wife’s consent wasn’t required or even acknowledged—it was her “duty” to lay back and take it whenever the husband wanted).

*You know—like how college students are required to take classes outside their major field to graduate. Like biology majors have to take some chemistry classes. So I’d think a law student needs a couple of courses on “consent” even for corporate law majors (that’s why parents generally have to sign off when their minor children want to get an after-school or summer job; a job application is a type of contract).
doors17 commented 2015-06-04 14:03:56 -0400 · Flag
This just in…http://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/03/despicable-fox-news-duggars-primetime-special-cover-child-molestation.html
scooter commented 2015-06-04 12:28:37 -0400 · Flag
Screw the Duggars. I hope the get the reward they so richly deserve.
doors17 commented 2015-06-04 12:27:42 -0400 · Flag
I’m sure this ridiculous, unprofessional and staged interview received big ratings. No winners here except for the advertisers.
Elemental Fraction commented 2015-06-04 09:57:38 -0400 · Flag
too bad Mr Kelly’s not supporting the children that were molested.
truman commented 2015-06-04 09:12:15 -0400 · Flag
Despite Blackroots Barbie’s fluff interview, the Diddling Duggars reality TV show is history. They will have to get real jobs like the rest of us.
Anita Hall commented 2015-06-04 08:25:18 -0400 · Flag
Karma ~ sweet, sweet justice for ALL of them. White so-called christian [note the small “c”] hypocrites. I have lived thru the hell that these “minor infractions” leave on the victims ~ scarring forever the most innocent of innocents. Lord forgive me but ~ may they ALL become victims themselves so they will learn to shut up & stop grandstanding B4 their Fox cohorts. Big difference between sympathy & empathy. Tho’ their sympathy is only for themselves ~ not the victims. How sad ~ how really sad.
NewsHounds posted about Megyn Kelly Plays Defense Attorney For The Duggars on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2015-06-04 01:32:54 -0400
Think Kelly would have been so sympathetic if the Duggars were liberal African Americans?








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